Hood College Chaucerians

from Tenor GIF Keyboard What good is a feud between two people that both suck for the same reason? As early as the General Prologue, Chaucer keys readers into the idea that friars and summoners are not always as kind as they should be or seem. In “The Friar’s Tale,” our (selfish and greedy) friar tells a tale about a selfish and greedy summoner who goes to Hell for refusing to repent. Why? Because he hates our summoner for competing with him on the pilgrimage and in reality. Both men extort people for money, but our friar implies with his tale that the difference between his extortions and the summoner’s extortions is that our friar (apparently) repents for his. I find that brilliantly satirical because, according to Christianity, our friar’s logic makes sense: as long as you accept God as your savior and repent for your sins, you’ve got a spot in Heaven. However, I find it clear that both the friar and the summoner’s extortions are still wrong, and if Hell exists,...

A paragraph is an elusive thing: it seems like something really obvious, something we have known how to write since elementary school. But how do you define a paragraph? How can you tell a good paragraph from a lackluster one? And how do you write the kind of paragraphs that make it easier to communicate your ideas to your reader? Simply put, a paragraph is a group of sentences that develop a single idea. That’s it. The correct length for a paragraph is however many sentences are required to introduce the idea of the paragraph, explain that idea, provide any necessary examples or evidence, explain that evidence, wrap up your idea, and (sometimes) transition into your next idea. However, you have to stick to a single idea! If you can’t write a clear, well-developed paragraph, you can’t write a good paper, a clear memo, a convincing email, or an enticing cover letter. Those who master the paragraph are ready to take on the world! Home Office photo by Free-Photos on Pixabay.com ...